Lifetime together
by fictionsophie
Summary: Rick and Kate have known each other forever. They drifted apart and reunited, feelings surfacing again. A three part short story about their life.
1. Young

**Again, a big thank you to everyone who read my ramblings! It means the world to me. Please, review!**

_**Young**_

The only time of the year they saw each other was during summer. Their families were neighbors in the little town where they lived in the holidays, next to the sea. They spent almost every day together since they met. Both of them remembered the way they had known each other: he had held her hand when she seemed too afraid to go toward the waves, being little kids. Their mothers had just watched them, as he led her across the sand toward the sea. Her tiny toes had touched the water and she had squealed with joy, going a little bit deeper in but not too much as he held her back. They had had play dates as their parents got to know each other and finally became friends.

They missed each other during the school year. They would often count the days until they would see the other again. They fought over everything, toys, pencils and sand castles. Their families visited each other very often during the holidays, and tried to do so even during the school year and winter break. Once, they had spent Christmas and New Year together.

When high school began for them, their encounters were more occasional. She would spend the holidays with her friends, and he would spend them with his girlfriend at the time. Kate was jealous of the girls, but had never admitted it to anyone but her. She could never hear when he tried to tell her about this girl she kissed or that one he went out with. Rick hated it when she smiled about a guy. He hated the way her eyes seemed to smile too. Neither one had ever tried to have a romantic relationship with each other. They didn't find their relationship as more than friends. Sure, they liked each other and would never admit it, but they kept it a secret for being an impossible scenario for both.

Kate never expected flowers when she had graduated. She had no idea anyone would even send her such, and shed a tear when she read the letter that came with it: _Kate, we are really proud of you. We'll ask for pictures! Make it a night to remember. Love from Martha & Rick. _She missed them really much, but there had been no time anymore to get together.

They went to her nineteenth birthday party. He and his mother had to fly across the country; they had moved and now were so far away from the Beckett family. It had been a surprise, most of all for Rick, who didn't expect to open the door to find a guy kissing Kate passionately. Ice coursed through his veins at the sight, but he kept a straight face and made nothing of it. The party went by swiftly, no more kissing from any of the two, but a strange atmosphere was felt when they were near each other.

The day of the tragedy, the first person to be there for her was Martha. She heard the news from Jim, Kate's father. Soon after, Rick was there, holding Kate as she cried her eyes out over her mother. _She is so young to be so broken_, he had thought. His mother and he tried to help with whatever there was that they could do. They attended the funeral, where everyone said beautiful words about how amazing Johanna had been, how she would be missed by everyone, how everyone was truly sorry about her being so young when she left them.

That was the last time Rick had seen Kate. Broken, dressed all in black, trying to keep a straight face for her father and everyone there. Her eyes red and puffy, she had been crying for days without stopping. He hated seeing her this way, but didn't know what to do. Eventually, the time to go away again came. He had to go to college, and his mother had auditions. They hugged like they were saying goodbye forever. Only three words were spoken between them.

"Thank you."

"_Always_."


	2. Adult

_**Adult**_

Kate became the youngest detective of the NYPD. Her father had been extremely proud, had thrown her a party with her colleagues. She didn't have many friends; she had been too keen on finishing her career. Lanie Parish, Javier Esposito, and Kevin Ryan were the closest people she had after her father. They worked every case that came to their hands together, covering each other's backs and always celebrated together.

Rick became a world renowned writer. His novels had made him famous, and with fame came women. He had been married. He had one child, Alexis. His little red haired beauty, he was more proud of her than of anything else in his life. She lived with him and his mother in a beautiful loft in New York.

They hadn't talked since the day after the funeral. She had just stopped answering his calls, and, eventually, he had stopped calling. They remembered each other vaguely, a cherished memory from the past. Of course, Kate saw his name everywhere with his books. She even bought some of them, reading and remembering how he loved to tell her stories when they were young.

They never expected to run into each other again.

He had been walking down the street when two police officers had approached him and made him get into the car. He was going to be questioned about murder. He understood nothing they said, everything had been a blur after he heard that a close friend of his had been killed the day before, right after he had seen him.

She was waiting in the precinct for the suspect. Coffee in hand, phone plastered to her ear as she listened to Esposito go on and on about how he had to ask Lanie out and didn't know how to. She turned around and looked at the doors of the elevator as they opened, and out came a lost looking Rick followed by some of her colleagues. The cup in her hand smashed on the floor as her mouth gaped open. Chief Montgomery came rushing in when he heard the noise, and very angrily told her to clean up the mess and interrogate the suspect. She couldn't believe her ears when she heard the Chief call Rick a _suspect_. She cleaned as fast as she could and went over to the interrogation room, stopping by the one-way window and looking at him. He was so grown up, she couldn't believe it. She shrugged the memories off and went into the interrogation room.

Of course, he recognized her. She couldn't let him take the lead in the interrogation so she questioned him thoroughly. He couldn't kill a person, she saw it in his eyes and she _knew _him. He had an alibi; he had witnesses that had seen him going into his loft. She promised they would talk when his alibi checked out.

She evaded him as much as she could. He was no longer a suspect, and she knew he was looking for her. Eventually, he found her and begged her to meet up for dinner. She obliged, feeling like she couldn't escape even if she wanted to.

They met in a restaurant not far away from her house. He was tapping his foot impatiently as she crossed the doors, nervousness showing in her body language. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours until he finally spoke up.

"Why did you never call me again?"

Such a simple question, and she didn't want to answer. She had shut everyone out, trying her best to protect everyone around her and not messing up their lives. She hated herself for not opening up to him like she could when they were young. She hated him for appearing in her life again, making memories flood back into her mind. She replied to his question after thinking a bit, but a vague answer left her lips. Fortunately for her, his phone buzzed as an incoming call went through. He excused himself and answered, not bothering to get up from the seat. She felt jealousy flow through her again as she heard him addressing the person on the other side of the line as "baby", "honey", and later saying "I love you". She kicked herself mentally for thinking they could be together in some way, in some time. He had never left her heart, and she also hated him for it. She had finally accepted that she had loved him in their youth, and that she had moved on. Only, the last part was a complete lie, she now figured out.

After dinner, he walked her to her apartment. They had spent the evening catching up, but she still didn't let him in. She didn't walk close to him, she didn't laugh. She was too absorbed in thought to register when he stopped and looked at her when they got to her door. Then, everything happened in a rush.

He stepped forward and caught her lips with his, his hands tangling in her loose hair. She froze momentarily, and then her hands were around his neck, playing with the strands of straight hair that gathered there. They were pressed against each other, lips moving in unison and hands roaming the other one's body. Suddenly, she pushed him away.

"This is not right. No." She shook her head almost as if she was talking to herself, but then he caught her chin with his hand and made her look up at him.

"This _is_ right. This is the only thing I've been thinking of doing since I saw you in the precinct."

"You have another woman, Rick. It is not right. You just told her you loved her, and you're kissing me…" He looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes and started laughing uncontrollably. "It's not funny!"

After taking a few deep breaths, he chuckled and looked at her again. "You see, it is funny. I was talking to Alexis, my daughter."

Her eyes widened at his words, mouth gaping as she tried to say something but couldn't. He laughed again, watching her standing dumbfounded. She had been so lost in thought she hadn't heard when he talked about Alexis. When the laughter died out, he resolved that he had to tell her everything.

"Kate, I have never stopped loving you. I loved you when we were merely children; I loved you since I first met you. I never told you, thinking you would never feel the same about me. But, here I am, many years later, telling you that even though I've been married and had a child of my own, my heart still belongs to you. I never got over you."

He stood there with his eyes close as he poured his heart out. He couldn't bear seeing her as he said everything; he couldn't bear the look that would appear in her eyes if she didn't feel the same.

But she did. She was smiling widely at every one of his words, tears forming in her eyes as she realized that she had let him go and tried to get over him but it would be impossible. Her heart had always been his, and she hadn't known until now. When he finished what he was saying, he just stood there, eyes closed, not anticipating her body slamming into his as she pressed her lips on his again, feeling the need to get closer to him again. She whispered she wasn't over him, and he smiled the greatest smile she had ever seen. "Upstairs" was the last word that left her lips before he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her own apartment.


	3. Elder

_**Elder**_

She leaned against him as he relaxed on the couch. He caressed her hands, the ring that he put on her finger still shining after all those years. Their love was untouched. They were together years apart, watching as Alexis played with their grandchildren and talked to her brother and sister, consequence of their love.

They had been so happy. She would always remember the morning after they had reunited, the day he proposed, the day they got married, the days when their children were born. Happiness was noticeable in everything they did together; they had not left each others' side since they had been reunited.

He loved her even more than the day he realized he loved her. He belonged to her, mentally and physically. As wrinkled as they both were, he still found her beautiful. Her eyes still seemed to sparkle every time she smiled, every time he looked at her, every time she saw her family united. She had looked beautiful when she had walked down the aisle on their wedding day, she had looked beautiful even when she had been in labor for hours, and she looked beautiful still. He couldn't believe his eyes when he looked at her. She was his wife, his better half, and she was with him.

Alexis loved Kate, as Martha had when she had been around them. They thought she was perfect for Rick, the right person to make him settle down and live with, and they had been right. He had never been happier, they noticed. Even when his mother left his side, and he had been sad, Kate had been there for him. She had comforted him through his sorrow, feeling her own sorrow as she loved the elder woman like family.

Their children were the happiest kids. They were brought up in an environment of love and happiness, and they had grown up caring and loving every person around them. They had had fights, of course. Misunderstandings, misconceptions. They always found their ways to do what they wanted. Their father had a sweet spot for them, and granted them wished without spoiling them very much.

Overall, their family was as united as it could be, they agreed as they sat together on the couch.

Alexis was the first one to give a speech at their funeral. She cried, but most of all she smiled, remembering the love she had felt for them, from them, and between them. They were finally together forever, she said, for eternity.

_**Katherine Houghton Beckett:**__Beloved daughter, wife, friend, and mother._

_**Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle**: Beloved son, husband, friend, and father._

_Together for eternity._


End file.
